Hook and Loop Fastener Doffing System

ABSTRACT

A quick-release garment has portions connected about a wearer and held in place by hook and loop fasteners. Quick-release tabs are connected to a rear portion of a hook and loop fastener element so as to extend along it and to project along an opposite end in a position making a loop piece accessible by the wearer. By pulling on the loop piece, the wearer causes the connected fastener to fold on to itself, thereby peeling apart the hook and loop fastener assembly. Such an arrangement is provided in a plate-carrying vest garment at a shoulder and at a cummerbund to allow convenient and rapid doffing of the garment, while being simply reassembled after such removal.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to garments with provision for rapid removal.

Persons exposed to projectile threats, such as police officers and soldiers, may seek a certain level of protection by wearing armored clothing. Low velocity projectiles such as handgun rounds, fragmentation rounds from a grenade or mortar, and miscellaneous shrapnel may be countered by so-called “soft armor.” Soft armor is worn in the form of jackets, vests, etc. which are composed of assemblies of ballistic fabric such as those formed from DuPont Kevlar® fibers or of Spectra® ultra high molecular weight polyethylene fibers from Honeywell. The soft armor is often fabricated as flexible panels which are received within pockets or pouches formed in fabric vests or jackets. In more serious threat situations, where higher velocity rifle rounds must be countered, soft armor has typically been supplemented with hard armor fabricated of rigid plates of ceramic, polymer, or metal. Vests with pockets for hard armor, known as plate carriers, can also be provided with attachment points for attaching pouches and other elements. A standardized attachment system employed by US military services is the U.S. Army's PALS (Pouch Attachment Ladder System) arrangement. Commonly, the PALS system is a component of a supporting vest such as those which are a part of the US Army's MOLLE (MOdular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment) system.

Body armor can contribute to the safety of a soldier in combat situations, but it is important that it not significantly detract from the soldier's ability to perform combat tasks, and that it not be an impediment to providing assistance to the soldier in the event of injury. Thus, while a body armor system should be securely mounted to the soldier, it should be rapidly removable in an emergency. For example, if the wearer becomes immersed in a body of water, the weight of the vest system and attached supplies can compromise his ability to remain afloat. If a wearer is wounded, the garment should be readily removed without aggravating the injury. In some systems, an emergency release pin is provided which engages with lacing held in place by eyelets which are threaded on the pin. By withdrawing the pin, the body armor can by opened up and the wearer expeditiously extricated. Yet this arrangement can result in the lacing and released eyelets becoming tangled or disarrayed, making reassembly of the armor a time-consuming task. Moreover, a complicated quick-release system involving many specialized parts can add to the cost of the garment. At times a steel cable is used for a quick-release actuator, which is provided with a urethane coating to protect the cable from the environment and to make it slick for ready withdrawal. The cable is narrow, but the thickness of the cable can make it uncomfortable to the wearer if a rifle strap or the like passes over it and can create a pressure point.

What is needed is a garment system which can be rapidly disassembled and reassembled.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The quick-release garment of this invention makes use of hook and loop fasteners, such as those sold by Velcro Industries B.V. LLC, the Netherlands, under the trademark VELCRO®, to releasably connect portions of a garment. The hook and loop fastener has one fastener element with projecting hooks, and another mating fastener element with projecting loops. These two elements when engaged face to face provide a secure attachment. This attachment generally resists separation by forces applied along the plane of the connection, while being readily separated by peeling the two elements apart. The garment has quick-release tabs which are connected to a rear portion of a hook and loop fastener element so as to extend along it and to project along an opposite end in a position making a loop piece accessible by the wearer. By pulling on the loop piece, the wearer causes the connected fastener to fold on to itself, thereby peeling apart the hook and loop fastener assembly. This arrangement is readily employed where a garment has hook and loop fastener engagement between parts, and can be economically fabricated using conventional sewing techniques.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a quick release garment which is readily removed in a short period of time.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an arrangement for separating the connection between two hook and loop fastener elements wherever found on a garment.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a quick release arrangement for a garment using sewn fabric and fastener pieces.

Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art ballistic plate carrier vest.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the prior art ballistic plate carrier vest with a shoulder cover removed and the shoulder straps separated from one another.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a shoulder quick-release tab module of this invention for attachment to the prior art device of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a shoulder strap cover of this invention for attachment to the prior art device of FIG. 2 to enclose portions of the quick-release tab module.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of the quick-release vest of this invention, showing the assembly of the shoulder quick-release tab module of FIG. 3 and the shoulder strap cover of FIG. 4 with the vest of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of the device of FIG. 5 with the quick-release tab module being assembled for use.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the quick-release vest of this invention assembled and ready for use.

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of a cummerbund quick-release tab module of this invention for attachment to the prior art device of FIG. 2.

FIG. 9 is a bottom plan view of the cummerbund quick-release tab module of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the quick-release vest of FIG. 7, showing the removal of the cummerbund closure panel for installation of the cummerbund quick-release tab of FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the device of FIG. 10, with the cummerbund quick-release tab attached to the cummerbund closure panel.

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of the device of FIG. 11 showing final connection of the cummerbund quick-release arrangement.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a soldier wearing the quick-release vest of FIG. 12 and engaging the cummerbund quick-release tab assembly prior to actuation.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the soldier of FIG. 13 gripping the shoulder quick-release tab assembly after actuation of the cummerbund quick-release tab assembly.

FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of an alternative embodiment quick-release garment of this invention, having a tab restraint strip which positions a quick-release tab.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring more particularly to FIGS. 1-15, wherein like numbers refer to similar parts, a prior art vest 20 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The vest 20 may be, for example, the JUMPABLE PLATE CARRIER™ manufactured by Crye Precision of Brooklyn, N.Y. The prior art vest 20 has a front panel 22 which is connected to a rear panel 24 by shoulder strap assemblies 30 which go over the wearer's shoulders, and a cummerbund assembly 32 which extends around the wearer's midsection. The prior art vest 20 may have downwardly opening pockets which can receive removable soft or hard armor, not shown, which serves to protect the wearer from bullets and high speed projectile fragments. The front panel 22 has a hinged front flap 34 which may be provided with horizontal rows of 1″ Mil-W-43668 Type III nylon webbing spaced 1″ apart, and reattached to the backing at 1.5″ intervals, as in the U.S. Army's PALS (Pouch Attachment Ladder System) arrangement. The cummerbund assembly 32 may be provided with PALS compatible webbing such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 13/005,980, entitled Lightweight Equipment Carrying Garment, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. For clarity, the drawings have been simplified and the individual loops sewn in the webbing have not been shown.

The invention makes use of two-part hook and loop fastener material, which is comprised of a fastener element of hook fastener material, indicated in the drawings by a pattern of small crosses, and a fastener element of loop fastener material, indicated in the drawings by a pattern of small circles. It should be understood that where hook fastener material is shown engaging with loop fastener material, the locations of the two halves of the hook and loop fastener can be reversed with similar function.

The prior art vest 20 is reconfigured into the quick-release garment 36 of the present invention shown in FIG. 12, by the removal of two stretch shoulder sleeves 38, as shown in FIG. 2, and by the addition of a shoulder quick-release module 40 shown in FIG. 3, a shoulder strap cover 42 shown in FIG. 4, and a cummerbund quick-release module 43 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

The shoulder quick release module 40 has a quick-release tab 44 which may be a ½ inch wide strip of woven webbing which extends through a rigid plastic loop piece 46, which provides a readily graspable termination to the module 40. The narrow tab 44 extends from a wider woven body 48 which may be about 2 inches wide. A hook and loop fastener element 50 is sewn to the body 48. The tab 44 preferably extends across the entire length of the body 48.

As shown in FIG. 5, the shoulder strap assemblies 30 are disassembled so a front shoulder strap 52 extends rearwardly from the front panel 22, and a rear shoulder strap 54 extends frontwardly from the rear panel 24. The rear shoulder strap is a receiving part, which will receive a hook and loop fastener element that will be stripped away, and the front should strap is a stripping part, that will be peeled away from the rear shoulder strap. The front shoulder strap has an attachment section 56 which is sewn to the front panel, and which tapers down to a connecting section which may be about 2 inches wide and to which an upwardly facing hook and loop fastener element 58 is connected, such as by sewing. The shoulder quick-release module 40 is affixed to the front shoulder strap 52 by bringing the downwardly facing fastener element 50 on the body 48 of the module into engagement with the upwardly facing fastener element 58. The front shoulder strap 52 is then folded, as shown in FIG. 6, to cause the shoulder quick release module to underlie the front shoulder strap, and the shoulder quick release tab 44 with its loop piece 46 is passed through a strap opening 60 in the front shoulder strap attachment section 56, so the loop piece 46 can be readily grasped by the wearer from the front of the garment.

The shoulder strap cover 42, shown in FIG. 4, has a flexible material body 62 with a first hook and loop fastener element 64 affixed to an interior surface, and a second mating hook and loop fastener element 66 affixed to an exterior surface. The body 62 is hemmed. A strap mounting flap 68 extends from the body 62 and has a third hook and loop fastener element 70 connected thereto. The rear shoulder strap 54 has a downwardly facing hook and loop fastener element 72 configured to mate with the upwardly facing hook and loop fastener element 58 on the front shoulder strap 52.

As shown in FIG. 6, the third fastener element 70 of the shoulder strap cover 42 is engaged with the rear shoulder strap 54 fastener element 72. As shown in FIG. 7, the front shoulder strap with attached shoulder quick-release element is received on the shoulder strap cover, and the upwardly facing front shoulder strap hook and loop fastener element 58 is connected to the downwardly facing hook and loop fastener element 72 of the rear shoulder strap 54 thereby connecting the front panel of the garment to the rear panel. The sides of the shoulder strap cover 42 may then be folded over the connected front and rear shoulder straps and the shoulder cover first hook and loop fastener element 64 is engaged with the shoulder cover second hook and loop fastener element 66. The shoulder strap cover 42 then surrounds the connected shoulder straps giving protection to the assembly from catching on other elements of clothing or gear that might pass over it, as well as giving the shoulder strap assembly a neat appearance.

As shown in FIG. 10, the garment has cummberbund side members 74 or straps which extend from the rear panel 24 to a cummerbund closure panel 76. The closure panel 76 has a first hook and loop fastener element 78 on its outwardly facing surface, and a second hook and loop fastener element 80 on its inwardly facing surface. The second hook and loop fastener element 80 mates with a frontwardly facing front panel 22 hook and loop fastener element 82, and the underside of the front element front flap 34 has a hook and loop fastener element which mates with the closure panel first fastener element 78 when it is closed thereon. The front panel is a receiving part, which will receive a hook and loop fastener element that will be stripped away, and the closure panel is a stripping part, that will be peeled away from the front panel. To attach the cummerbund quick release module, the front panel 22 front flap 34 is folded up, and the closure panel 76 is separated from its attachment to the front panel.

The cummerbund quick release module, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, has a quick-release tab 84 which may be a ½ inch wide strip of woven webbing which extends through a rigid plastic loop piece 85 which terminates the module. The narrow tab 84 extends across a wider woven body 86 which may be about 2 inches wide. The body 86 is divided into a rear segment 88 and a front segment 90. A rear hook and loop fastener element 94 is sewn to the rear segment 88 of the body 48, and a front hook and loop element 92 is sewn to the front segment 90. The hook and loop fastener elements 94, 92 are selected to mate with the inwardly and outwardly facing hook and loop fastener elements 78, 80 respectively of the cummerbund closure panel 76. There is a gap 98 between the rear fastener element 94 and the front fastener element 92 defining a region where the body 86 may be readily folded. The tab 84 preferably extends across a majority of the length of the rear segment of the body 86. The quick-release tab 84 is not fixed to the body front segment 90. A small patch of hook and loop fastener material defines a tab fastener element 96 midway along the tab 84.

The cummerbund quick-release module 43 is connected to the cummerbund closure panel 76 as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, by pressing the rear segment 88 of the body 48 of the module 43 to the inwardly facing second fastener element 80 of the closure panel. The rear segment 88 extends diagonally across the closure panel 76, and projects beyond its upper corner. As shown in FIG. 12, the body of the cummerbund quick-release module is folded at the gap 98, to bring the front segment 90 front fastener element 92 into engagement with the outwardly facing first fastener element 78 of the closure panel 76. The tab 84 then extends along the first fastener element 78 and is lightly retained in a downwardly extending diagonal position by the engagement of the tab fastener element 96 with the first fastener element 78 of the closure panel 76. The quick-release vest 36 of the present invention is then fully assembled, and ready to be worn by a wearer 102 as shown in FIG. 13.

When the vest 36 is donned by the wearer 102, and the shoulder straps are connected, the cummerbund closure panel 76 is brought into engagement with the vest front panel 22 and the front flap 34 folded down to complete the entry of the wearer into the vest. In this configuration, the cummerbund module quick-release tab 84 protrudes through an opening between the front flap and the front panel, and the shoulder module quick release tab 44 protrudes through the strap opening 60. Both tabs 84, 44 are accessible from the wearer's front, and are readily grasped one after the other by his left hand. To quickly release the vest 36 and permit a rapid doffing of the garment, the wearer may grasp and pull the tabs 84, causing the shoulder and cummerbund hook and loop fastener engagements to be broken, and the garment 36 to be put in a condition where it can be readily removed.

Looking more closely at the mechanics of operation of the quick release mechanism, consider first the arrangement at the shoulder strap connection, as shown in FIG. 6. The garment front shoulder strap 52 has the fastener element 58 attached to an upwardly facing surface of the shoulder strap, whereas the opposite surface of the shoulder strap faces downwardly. The rear shoulder strap 54 extends towards the front shoulder strap, and has a fastener element 72 affixed thereon. The fastener element 58 and the second fastener element 72 are connected as a hook and loop fastener to define a fastener region which retains the front shoulder strap in connection with the rear shoulder strap, the fastener region has a remote margin at a remove from the strap opening 60, and a near margin spaced from the remote margin near the opening 60. The quick release tab 44 is connected to the front shoulder strap at the remote margin of the fastener region, and it extends along the downwardly facing surface of the front shoulder strap, across the near margin of the fastener region and through the opening 60.

The quick release tab 44 is graspable by a wearer of the quick-release garment assembly, such that a force applied to the quick release tab in the direction extending from the remote margin to the near margin causes the fastener element 58 to peel away from the fastener element 72 to cause the fastener element 58 and the quick release tab 44 to pass across the near margin, and through the opening 60, thereby separating the shoulder straps.

In a similar fashion, considering the arrangement at the cummerbund connection, as shown in FIG. 11, the garment cummerbund closure panel 76 has the fastener element 80 attached to an inwardly facing surface of the closure panel, whereas the opposite surface of the closure panel faces outwardly, as shown in FIG. 12. The vest front panel 22 extends towards the closure panel and has a fastener element 82 affixed thereon. The fastener element 80 and the fastener element 82 are connected as a hook and loop fastener to define a fastener region which retains the closure panel 76 in connection with the vest front panel 22, and the fastener region has a remote margin at a remove from the bottom corner of the front panel, where the flap 34 defines an opening, and the fastener region has a near margin spaced adjacent the bottom corner of the front panel. The quick release tab 84 is connected to the closure panel 76 at the remote margin of the fastener region, and it extends along the outwardly facing surface of the closure panel, across the near margin of the fastener region. The quick release tab 84 is graspable by a wearer of the quick-release garment assembly, such that a force applied to the quick release tab in the direction extending from the remote margin to the near margin causes the fastener element 80 to peel away from the fastener element 82 to cause the fastener element 80 and the quick release tab 84 to pass across the near margin, thereby separating the closure panel 76 from the front panel 22.

It should be noted that the quick-release modules have been disclosed above in a manner permitting the retrofitting of an existing garment with the quick-release functionality of the present invention. However, the garments may also be fabricated to incorporated the quick-release features of this invention, for example by sewing or otherwise fixing the quick-release tabs directly to a hook and loop fastener element, instead of connecting it by another hook and loop fastener element.

To assist a wearer in repeatably accessing the quick-release tab of this invention, it is helpful to have the quick-release tab repeatably positioned in a common spot with respect to the garment, where the wearer can readily access it when necessary to doff the garment. The function of positioning the quick-release tab is performed by the front shoulder strap opening 60, but it can also be provided by some other type of releasable engagement between the quick-release tab and the garment. For example, a tab restraining and positioning strip 104 may be provided as shown in the alternative embodiment quick-release garment 106 of FIG. 15. The strip 104 is a narrow piece of webbing that is folded across itself to define a loop through which the quick-release tab 108 extends. The strap may be connected to a rear of a vest shoulder strap 110, for example by sewing, and removably fastened to the front 112 of the shoulder strap by a hook and loop fastener arrangement including a patch 113 of hook and loop material sewn to the front of the shoulder strap. Thus the looped strip 104 defines a front opening 114 through which the quick-release tab 108 extends and by which the tab is held in place for ready access by the user. Other alternative engagements between the tab and the garment might comprise a strip of hook or loop fastener material extending off the tab, and mating with a corresponding loop or hook fastener material on the garment; a looped band of material encircling the quick-release tab which carries the hook or loop fastener element; a simple piece of hook or loop fastener element sewn to a rear face of the quick-release tab, and mating with a correspond loop or hook fastener element on the garment; or a band sewn to the garment extending across the quick-release tab generally perpendicular thereto.

It is understood that the invention is not limited to the particular construction and arrangement of parts herein illustrated and described, but embraces all such modified forms thereof as come within the scope of the following claims. 

1-5. (canceled)
 6. A garment with a quick-release connection between two segments, comprising: a garment front panel having a garment first segment having a receiving part; a first fastener element connected to the receiving part; a garment second segment having a stripping part with a surface which faces the first fastener element and an opposite surface facing away from the first fastener element; a second fastener element affixed to the surface which faces the first fastener element of the receiving part, wherein one of the first fastener element and the second fastener element comprises a region of hook fastener material, and the other of the first fastener element and the second fastener element comprises a region of loop fastener material, such that the first fastener element and the second fastener element are connected as a hook and loop fastener to define a fastener region which retains the garment first segment in connection with the garment second segment, the fastener region having a remote margin and a near margin spaced in a first direction from the remote margin; a third fastener element being either a loop fastener material or a hook fastener material, the third fastener element being positioned on the opposite surface facing away from the first fastener element of the receiving part; a flap connected to the garment front panel, the flap having thereon either a loop fastener material or a hook fastener material to selectively overlie and engage with the third fastener element; and a quick release tab connected to the second fastener element at the fastener region remote margin, and the quick release tab extending along the stripping part to extend across the near margin of the fastener region, the quick release tab being graspable by a wearer of the quick-release garment assembly, such that a force applied to the quick release tab causes the second fastener element to peel away from the first fastener element such that the stripping part folds over itself and to cause the second fastener element and quick release tab to pass across the near margin thereby separating the first garment segment from the second garment segment.
 7. The garment of claim 6 further comprising a releaseable engagement between the quick release tab and the first garment element to retain the quick release tab in position for ready access by a wearer prior to separating the first garment segment from the second garment segment.
 8. The garment of claim 6 wherein the flap comprises a cover panel connected to the garment and extending over the fastener region and defining an exit opening; and wherein the quick release tab extends through the opening to protrude beyond the cover panel. 9-12. (canceled)
 13. The quick-release garment assembly of claim 20 wherein the quick-release tab comprises a looped strip of material which extends through a central hole in a rigid loop piece. 14-19. (canceled)
 20. A garment with a quick-release connection between two segments, comprising: a front panel of a vest having a garment first segment; a first fastener element affixed to the garment first segment; a flap which is pivotably attached to the garment first segment along an attachment margin which allows the flap to be pivoted on the attachment margin, the flap having a third fastener element, the flap having a free margin not along the attachment margin; a garment second segment having a first surface facing in a first direction, and an opposite surface facing in an opposite direction, the garment second segment having a remote margin, and a near margin spaced from the remote margin; a second fastener element connected to the garment second segment extending along the first surface and positioned between the remote margin and the near margin, wherein one of the first fastener element and the second fastener element comprises a region of hook fastener material, and the other of the first fastener element and the second fastener element comprises a region of loop fastener material, such that the first fastener element and the second fastener element are connected as a hook and loop fastener to define a fastener region which retains the garment first segment in connection with the garment second segment; a fourth fastener element connected to the garment second segment extending along the opposite surface; wherein the flap third fastener element comprises a region of hook fastener material or loop fastener material to form a hook and loop fastener when engaged with the first or fourth fastener element which retains the flap in connection with the first garment segment overlying the garment second segment; and a quick release tab connected to the garment second segment at the garment second segment remote margin, and extending along the garment second segment to pass beneath the flap free margin, the quick release tab being graspable by a wearer of the quick-release garment assembly, such that a force applied to the quick release tab in a direction from the remote margin towards the near margin causes the second fastener element to peel away from the first fastener element to cause the second fastener element and quick release tab to pass beneath the flap free margin thereby separating the second garment segment from the first garment segment.
 21. The garment of claim 20 wherein the garment second segment comprises portions of a cummerbund element which extends from a vest rear panel, the garment second segment extending across portions of the garment first segment, and wherein the flap attachment margin extends above the second garment segment when it is attached to the garment first segment.
 22. The garment of claim 21 wherein the direction from the remote margin towards the near margin extends along the front panel of the vest. 